LanSchool Air - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Managing Classes
What if a teacher forgets to end a class? Will the class session time out?
A class session will end when the teacher selects "Exit Class" or signs out of LanSchool Air. After two hours of idle time, the teacher is prompted to ask if they want to leave the class open or let it end automatically. If the teacher closes their browser without ending class, any restrictions that remain enabled on student devices (
web limiting,
blank screen) are lifted until the teacher returns to the class.
Can I change the name of my classes?
When
creating a new class manually, you can choose a Name, Description, and a banner image to represent the class. This information can be modified at anytime in the Classroom Settings of each class.
If your class was imported into LanSchool Air from your student information system, you will not be able to modify the name of the class in LanSchool Air. Instead, you can add a description about the class and select a custom banner image to make certain classrooms easier to identify.
Why are none of my classes showing up?
First, click on the filter icon next to My Classes to make sure that the classes you expect to see aren’t currently being hidden. See
Customizing the My Classes Page for more details.
If your students are using Chromebooks and you generally sync your classes from Google Classroom, try resetting your account’s
Google Classroom sync by opening the sidebar menu and selecting UNSYNC GOOGLE ACCOUNT and then SYNC GOOGLE ACCOUNT.
If your classes are being imported from your student information system and are no longer available, check with your LanSchool Air administrator to confirm that the overnight sync is working properly. Your admin may need to resync the roster integration into LanSchool Air.
If my classes are imported from Clever, do I need to be logged into Clever first?
No. If your LanSchool Air admin enabled rostering integration with Clever, classes are imported for you school’s student information system into Clever and from there, into LanSchool Air. This sync typically happens each night. You do not need to login to Clever to see your classes in LanSchool Air.
Will new students be added to my LanSchool Air class rosters automatically?
If your LanSchool Air administrator has enabled roster integration, most of your class rosters will be automatically updated each night based on the latest enrollment information in your district’s student information system.
If you are
manually creating your own class rosters, you will need to update them as your rosters change. If your students are using Chromebooks, make sure to add the students to your roster that have the device type of “Chrome”. If your students are using Windows or Mac devices, make sure to add the students that have the appropriate device type.
Can I start two classes at the same time?
Yes, but each class will need to be open in their own browser tab. Students can only be in one class at a time.
Monitoring Students
What happens when two teachers start a class with the same student in both?
If two teachers start a class that has the same student in both rosters,
the teacher who starts the class last has control over the student. The first teacher sees the student temporarily, and then the student thumbnail will turn gray with the message "in another class" along with the name of the teacher that took them. Any restrictions that were enabled from the first class (
web limiting,
blank screen) are lifted, and the policies of the new class are enforced. If multiple instructors need to monitor the same students at the same time, consider
sharing a class using Co-Teaching.
Can instructors see everything on the student’s screen or just their browser?
Instructors will be able to see the full desktop and all open windows for students using Windows or macOS devices. If a student has more than one monitor connected to their device, LanSchool Air will cycle between them.
For students using Chromebooks, instructors will see whichever browser tab the student currently has selected as active. Chrome apps and Android apps will not be visible by default. To view all open windows on a student’s Chromebook, instructors can request the student to share it by
switching to Desktop View. Students must approve this sharing request before continuing to use their device.
Can I monitor students that are using personal devices?
While it’s possible to ask students to install the LanSchool Air app on their personal devices, many schools have made the decision to not require this. Students must have the client installed on their device in order to be managed by LanSchool Air.
- Students using Chromebooks must sign in with their school-managed G Suite account for the LanSchool Air for Chromebooks app to be installed.
- Students using Windows devices must have the LanSchool Air for Windows client installed and configured.
- Students using MacOS devices must have the LanSchool Air for MacOS client installed and configured.
Can teachers monitor students 24x7?
Most schools enable
Active Hours to restrict monitoring to only within certain hours of certain days. Check with your LanSchool Air administrator to confirm how your organization has decided to implement.
Can school administrators monitor classes that an instructor has active?
Yes, but only after the instructor has added the school administrator as a co-teacher to their class. Only other users that are listed as Instructors in the Class Settings can see if a class is active and monitor the students in that class. See
Using Co-Teaching for more information.
Do students need to be at school for LanSchool Air to work?
By default, LanSchool Air will work if the student’s device is connected to the internet. However, schools can configure
IP Access Filtering to restrict LanSchool Air to only work while students are in the school building and connected to the school’s WiFi. Please check with your LanSchool Air administrator to confirm how your organization has decided to implement.
Why can’t I see all my students’ screens?
There are a few reasons why some students may appear as offline in your class. It’s important to try to narrow it down first so we can address the cause of the issue.
- Try refreshing the browser and clearing the cache on the instructor’s device. This can be done with the following keyboard shortcuts: CMD+SHIFT+R (macOS) or CTRL+SHIFT+R (Win/Chromebook).
- Then, try exiting the class and starting it again. This will pull your students back into class if they were pulled away into a different class by mistake.
- Finally, confirm that the offline students are logged in to a device that has been setup to use LanSchool Air. If students are using a personal device, the LanSchool Air app may not have been installed.
Can students disable LanSchool Air?
If you suspect a student is using another app, extension, or setting to interfere with LanSchool Air, we recommend contacting your organization’s IT team and asking them to restrict access to those capabilities on school-managed devices. We recommend that students do not have local administrator permissions on Windows or MacOS devices and that browser apps/extensions are restricted to those that are explicitly approved.
Using Classroom Features
Do I need to explicitly allow other websites or videos that are embedded into other websites?
No. You only need to add the main website to the
Allowed List. For example, if you allow Canvas by adding instructure.com, students will be able to view all content embedded on that page including videos or documents from other websites. However, if they try to access that content directly (and not within the Canvas page), they would be blocked.
If a teacher enables web limiting, how long do those websites stay restricted?
Web limiting will stay in effect while the instructor’s class remains active. As soon as the instructor exits class, closes their browser, or loses their internet connection, any restrictions placed on students in that class will be lifted until that instructor reconnects.
Can an instructor take full control of a student device?
At this time, instructors can push websites to student devices, but cannot take full remote control of their mouse and keyboard.
For students using Chromebooks, instructors can use Classroom List View to monitor the browser tabs they currently have open and close them remotely if needed. See
Controlling Student Browser Tabs for more details.
When using Class Group View, do the groups reset periodically?
Students will remain in the
groups they were placed in until modified by the instructor. At this time, for classes imported from Google Classroom or Clever, groups may be reset after the roster is updated and synced to LanSchool Air.
How can I mute chat alerts?
To mute the chat and raise hand notification sounds for the entire classroom, click on the View Actions menu bottom right corner of the messaging sidebar and select Turn off Notification Sound. See Messaging Students for more details.
Logging in to LanSchool Air
How do I access LanSchool Air?
First, activate your LanSchool Air account by clicking on the activation link found in the email sent out by your administrator. The subject of the email is “LanSchool Air Account Activation”.
To login to LanSchool Air, go to
https://www.lanschool.com/ and click “Login”. Select your region to access the correct LanSchool Air login page.
- North America: https://lanschoolair.lenovosoftware.com/
- Europe, Middle East, and Africa: https://lanschoolair-emea.lenovosoftware.com/
- Asia, Australia, and New Zealand: https://lanschoolair-apac.lenovosoftware.com/
Enter your email address and password you created during activation. If you used the
“Sign in with Google” option during activation, use that option to login as well.
Why didn’t I receive an invitation email?
After your LanSchool Air administrator is finished deploying the LanSchool Air client to student devices, they will begin
sending invitations to instructors. If you haven’t received an email with the subject line “LanSchool Air Account Activation” and you believe you should have, please reach out to your administrator and ask them to send one.
Why does my activation link say that it has expired?
The activation link will be valid for 30 days after being sent out. After this period, or if your administrator has re-sent a new invite email, the activation link will be expired. Please reach out to your administrator and ask them to send you a new invitation.
Do students need to sign in for LanSchool Air to work?
Students do need to be signed into their device in order to appear online in a teacher’s class, but students do not need to login to LanSchool Air. The LanSchool Air app must be installed on the student’s device. The app will use the student’s login name on their device to identify them in LanSchool Air.
General
Where can I find tutorials and videos?
You can also access our in app Help Center. After logging in to LanSchool Air, use the
icon located in the upper right corner. In the Help Center, you will find tutorials, feature guides and quick access to Support. Feedback options and links to additional training are also available.
Please contact our Customer Success team with any other questions you may have. Does LanSchool Air work on Apple iPads?
Instructors can login to LanSchool Air to monitor classrooms by logging into LanSchool Air using the iPad’s browser. We recommend always using the latest version of Google Chrome. Currently, LanSchool Air is unable to monitor students that are using iPads or smartphones.
How do I submit product feedback?
- To submit product feedback, click on View Help Center in the top right.
- Click on Share Feedback.
- Choose which type of feedback to send, share your thoughts and click Send Feedback.